Page 315 of DATE
"Escape from your fate." Her pale blue eyes glinted in the sunlight, calm and perceptive as always. "You can take your sister and leave this entire family behind."
Hedy didn’t elaborate further.
She knew that if she said anything more, she could push this uncertain young man into an even more confused state.
Caesar cursed loudly and slammed the door, leaving the room in total silence.
During their conversation, Hedy had carefully maintained her perspective, subtly guiding and controlling him without overtly directing his thoughts.
—This was one of the most common tactics in modern society, something people at companies like MGM were especially skilled at.
Warnings, shaking, questioning, sowing discord.
Whether from film companies or during a journalist’s interrogation.
Her past professional experiences had taught her enough techniques—
Don’t answer his questions, draw him into the context you’ve set, and use your own narrative to influence his expectations.
Hedy had no idea whether Alexander VI was truly aware of what was happening or whether he was completely ignorant of his plans for the young boy. But in this moment, she knew that to survive, to ensure she could live to see Leonardo again, and to get the news out, she had to take these dangerous yet powerful actions—
She had to directly shake the very beliefs the boy held most dear, sowing fear and doubt about everything in his mind.
Journalists were indeed a bothersome breed.
They were skilled at setting verbal traps, and once someone stepped wrong, a new scandal could be spun from it.
Hedy knew that if she missed this opportunity, the next time she saw him, it would likely be at the wedding. So she used all her conversational techniques to implant the deepest message in his subconscious—
Your father cannot be trusted.
You and your sister are being used.
The only way for you to escape this predicament is to delay thewedding.
Rumors in history spoke of an unbelievable incestuous affair between him and Lucrezia, with her marrying two or three times under her father's orders, becoming a pawn in the game of power and political transactions.
But Hedy wasn’t interested in the truth behind those rumors.
Children raised in a chaotic family where orgies weren’t considered unusual saw and experienced things that rivaled the darkness witnessed by any politician.
What Hedy cared more about now was how to subtly pry open this young man’s mind and, once she had gathered enough necessary information, figure out a way to escape.
The only information she knew for certain was that the wedding would take place in four days, and the Pope had already returned to Rome.
—She had no desire to meet that old pervert, not even once.
Despite her silver tongue earlier, Caesar had remained wary, not revealing much to her.
What was Genoa like now? Had it fallen into chaos?
How had the relationships between Rome and the three surrounding countries developed?
Was Lorenzo still alive? Had he discovered the traitor?
The sun rose and slowly set outside the window, while the exquisite food on the dining table remained untouched by her.
For two days straight, Hedy sat by the window, completely devoid of appetite.
